Good morning. Today we get to the final commandment. As God wraps up this list of His, what does He want to conclude with? Let’s jump right into the text. Exodus 20:1-17 says, (Ribbon)
Let’s just open with a word of prayer
First, let’s look at what the word covet means. To “Covet” is to strongly desire something that belongs to someone else. The dictionary definition of “covetousness” is “grasping for more.” So what does it mean to coven?
It is a desire to possess what belongs to another, usually tangible things. A few years ago, there was a commercial on the radio. . . It said, “I want this car. I need this car. I want to smell the new car smell and know it’s MY new car smell. I want to kick the tires in the showroom. I want to roll all my electric windows up and down, just because I can. I want this car. I need this car.”
Guess how much money was spent on marketing – commercials, catalogs, and other advertisement in 2005? In the US alone it was $1.074 trillion. That’s because they know that they can make people want it. They can make it look like everyone else has it and THEY are happy! So, you need it too! SO they can make you pawn something else. . . go into debt for something you can’t afford.
Did you hear the one about the guy who found a bottle on the beach, and when he pulled out the cork, out popped a genie? The genie gave him 3 wishes, but said, “Be careful what you wish for– because your worst enemy will receive twice as much as you do.” The guy wished for a Million Dollars. *POOF!* It appeared at his feet. At the same moment, miles away, 2 million appeared at the feet of his enemy. Next he wished for the largest diamond in the world. Again, *POOF!* It appeared at his feet. But his enemy got 2 of them. As the man realized how well his enemy was doing, he got more and more frustrated trying to think of what to wish for next. Finally, he turned to the Genie and said, “OK – I’m ready. Scare me half to death.”
So why does God have a law against coveting? Well what I want to do this morning is look at several reasons why He added this command to the top 10.
First, God forbids coveting because it puts my focus in the wrong place.
John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Colossians 3:2 tells us, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Or what about Matthew 6:19-21? Here in Matthew 6:19-21 it says, “1”
And lastly in Luke 12:15 it says, “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.””
The last few commands that we have looked at have been kind of short on details or further elaboration, but this command goes into a little more detail. It talks about different categories of things that we might be tempted to covet.
House – To some people, having the right home in the right neighborhood is the ultimate in satisfaction.
Wife – “Why can’t you be more like that!?” This could go for husbands too! People always compare to others and wish they had it the way so and so does.
Servants – Ok, so maybe we don’t covet servants as much these days. But how about their dishwasher, or their microwave? Or their car? It’s the servant that gets them places – do you covet the new car, or the new truck that someone else has?
Ox, donkey – To the people of Moses’ day, an ox, donkey, or some other beast of burden was essential if one was going to make a living. They were his source of income. Without them, he could not bring in his crop. It’s very easy to covet another man’s job – another man’s source of income today. Some of you may be thinking to yourselves, “My next door neighbor makes twice as much as I do, and he spends most of his time out on the golf course with his clients. And I have to put up with a supervisor who cusses all day long and criticizes me even when I am not at fault!”
And if all that isn’t enough, this command ends by saying “Or anything that belongs to your
neighbor” – So far, we’ve seen that you can covet a house, personal relationships, possessions that make life easier and more prestigious, and a different kind of job. But there are a lot more things that you can covet, and rather than try and list them all out, God closes the verses with the catch-all of “anything.” That just about covers it all. It leaves you to investigate yourself and your own desires.
Let’s see if we can’t come up with some other things that we might have a problem with. How about some of these; do you covet someone else’s sports ability, their marriage, their clothes, their bank account, their figure, their kids – “Why can’t you kids be more like the neighbor’s kids!?” Do you ever covet someone else’s teaching ability, or their singing ability or anything that you feel like they can do better than you can do? Maybe it’s even the blessings that they have been given by God.
All of the things that we have talked about so far have at least one thing in common. Each and every one of them is a part of this life. They are temporary. They are a part of the world that we will one day leave behind when we die. The question is not “What am I building here?” but “What am I sending on ahead of me into eternity?”
When God sends Jesus down to get us, He will not drag you to Heaven. He doesn’t want us to hesitate when we hear the trumpet blow. He wants us to be in such an attitude that we are looking forward to His coming and that we anticipate it every day. So God added this command so that we would keep our focus in the right place.
Second, God forbids coveting because it puts a barrier between me and my neighbor.
The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9)
My attitude toward my neighbor is supposed to be love. It’s kind of hard to love someone who is standing in the way of me getting what I think I really need in order for me to be happy and satisfied in life. Love is characterized by self-sacrifice not by self-gratification. Love rejoices with those who rejoice and weeps with those who weep.
A covetous spirit causes me to get envious when my neighbor gets a new car or new furniture or when he gets a raise at work. A covetous spirit causes me to laugh inside and secretly rejoice when that new car that he just bought gets banged up in a fender-bender. It puts within me a spirit of competition and comparison instead of cooperation. But a loving spirit allows me to be glad when someone else is able to purchase a new car when I’m still driving a junker. So God gives us this command because He knows that if we allow covertness to enter our lives, it will put up a wall between us and others.
The third reason God forbids coveting is because it leads to breaking all of God’s commands.
In the New King James Version of the Bible it says in I Timothy 6:10-11, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”
You see, breaking the command to not covet, opens the door to breaking the other commands that God has set in place. Here is the worst example of this from the Bible: KING DAVID! Take a look at all of this:
* David broke the 10th commandment by coveting his neighbor’s wife.
* That led to adultery, which broke the 7th commandment.
* Then, in order to steal Bathsheba which was a violation of the 8th commandment
* He committed murder and broke the 6th commandment.
* He broke the 9th commandment by lying about it.
* This brought dishonor to his parents, which is covered in the 5th commandment.
* He didn’t put God first, breaking the 1st and 2nd commandments.
* And that dishonored God’s name, causing him to break the 3rd commandment.
Have you ever told a lie, and then had to tell a bigger lie to cover up that lie, and then a bigger, well you get the point. Well just like the lie, when you break this command, and you begin to covet what others have, that leads you down the road to breaking the other commands as well. Sure it may not go as far as what it did with David, but it is still breaking God’s commands. So remember, God said it was wrong to covet, because He knew it would lead to breaking the other commands as well.
And then fourthly, God forbids coveting because it will destroy our spiritual lives.
Mark 4:18-19 says, “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”
And in Luke 12:16-19 it says, “2”
This guy had plenty and could have assisted so many others, but he failed to see beyond his own consuming greed. “I’ll tear down what I have and build bigger and better.” How current does he sounds? Today, culture tells us to do whatever we have to in order to be bigger and better than everyone else.
But what we need to do is hear the Lord’s evaluation carefully. Following that, in verse 20 it says, “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’”
Happiness doesn’t come by getting what you want; happiness comes by wanting what you’ve got. So there are a few reasons why God forbids coveting. Now let’s look at a few ways to overcome a coveting spirit.
First, learn to be content with what you have.
In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul tells us, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
And in Hebrews 13:5 it says, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.””
The key to being content with what you have is to be thankful for what you have. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to be “always giving thanks for all things.”
If you are content with what you have, getting more will not make you happy. There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve you situation in life, but if that is what you are banking on to make you happy, you are sadly mistaken. So learn to be content with what you have.
Second, learn to have a proper perspective on material things.
I have done a lot of funerals and been to many others. I have yet to see a person being lowered into the ground with all there stuff. They leave it all behind. In I Timothy 6:6-10 it says, “3”
Why should we get hung up on something that we cannot take with us? The only thing you can take with you is your faith. Why would we want to base our happiness on stuff that will not make us happy? So get a proper understanding of material possessions.
And finally, start coveting the right things.
In Philippians 3:8,10 Paul writes, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ . . .”
And in I Corinthians 9:24-27 it says, “4”
All he ever really wanted in life was more. He wanted more money, so he put inherited wealth into a billion-dollar pile of assets. He wanted more fame, so he broke into the Hollywood scene and soon became a filmmaker and star. He wanted more sensual pleasures, so he paid handsome sums to indulge his every sexual urge. He wanted more thrills, so he designed, built, and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world. He wanted more power, so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that 2 U. S. presidents became his pawns. All he ever wanted was more. He was absolutely convinced that more would bring him true satisfaction. Unfortunately, history shows otherwise. He concluded his life … colorless; sunken chest; fingernails decaying, rotting, black teeth; tumors, innumerable needle marks from drug addiction. Howard Hughes died,… believing the myth of more. He died a billionaire junkie, insane by all reasonable standards.
A successful businessman and his friends were talking and laughing together and enjoying success. The businessman told of his childhood of poverty. Someone had given him a big coin. To have a coin was rare for children then, and his little sister begged to hold it. He laughed over the memory of all the chores he could get her to do for him just to get to hold the coin.
He told of a day when she minded the cows all day for the privilege of holding the coin, only to have to give it up at the end of the day. All of the men laughed again at the childishness of the sister. Just then, one man not laughing, reminded the businessman that all he was doing now in labor and service was for the privilege of holding onto a few possessions. “The end of the day is coming, and you will have to give them up like your little sister did” he said.
Are we desiring the right things in life? I encourage you to covet – the things that will last! The gold that I want is to be able to stand before Jesus, the ultimate judge of the greatest race of all, and have him place a crown on my head and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Now as we close, the Ten Commandments were written a long time ago. But the beauty of them is that they are still as applicable to us today as they were when they were first passed down to Moses. The Ten Commandments were never meant to be a means of salvation, but they were in part given to us so that we could see the need for a Savior. As we wrap this series up today, and we take a look at a couple important commands next week I hope that not only have you gained something from this series, buy I hope that you will apply these commands to your life as well. Even thought they were written to Moses many years ago, they still have a huge impact on the way we should live today as Christians as well. So keep that in mind.
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